Runaway
by SoulShdw
Summary: Cliff and Mirage visit the dojo where they trained, visiting her father and facing some issues from their pasts.


Yet another one in my series of SO3 post game fics. This one focuses more on Maria and Cliff. This one was much harder to write because I really can't identify with either of their characters. Beware, possibility of OOCness.  
Probably have two or three of these left. One revolving around Adray and Claire and another around the little Menodix Roger.

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He never really liked space travel all too much. It always took a long time, the seats were usually small and cramped, and you usually had nothing to do for hours and end. He always tried to sleep through such trips if he could, although most of the time that was a luxury that he was unable to afford. _Well, at least until she became my co-pilot._

At that thought he took a quick glance towards his traveling companion. She was a friendly face that he had known for most of his life. They had been through a lot together, from training together when they were younger, to forming the anti-federation group Quark. Most recently, they fought together with a small band of misfits against what many would consider a god in its own right. _After all, he did create this universe. I suppose that's one way of throwing away the big bang theory._

The thought caused the man to chuckle quietly. Although quiet, this drew the attention of the blond haired woman sitting next to him. She looked up from her magazine and gave him a strange look, as if trying to figure out what was so funny. He merely waved her off, chuckling a little at her confusion. She merely shrugged once before turning back to her magazine.

It was at that point a voice cued up over the flight's music. "We will be arriving in the Klaus system shortly. We will be disengaging Gravitic warp, so please remain seated and fasten your safety belts."

The blond haired man merely sighed as he leaned back in the badly cushioned seat and closed his eyes. "Almost home, eh..." He said quietly to himself, trailing off into his memories.

His companion closed her magazine before smirking. "It has been a long time since you've been home. Father will be thrilled to see you."

He opened his eyes only to roll them at her comment. "Please, I never could figure out what the old man ever saw in a young spoiled little delinquent like me anyway."

The woman merely laughed. "Cliff, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You know that you're the best to ever come out of our dojo. He'll be happy to see you again."

Cliff Fittir merely scratched his head in a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment. "Come on Mirage, you know how flattery gets to me." He said in a light amused tone. He then sighed once more, his voice losing its playful qualities before he asked, "Is his health really that bad?"

Mirage merely shrugged, as if to say, 'who knows.' "He always exaggerates when he speaks of his condition, but I suppose we'll find out when we get there." The two of them felt the ship buckle slightly before settling back into a steady flight. "Looks like they disengaged the warp."

Cliff nodded, "Yeah, we should be docking soon."

Mirage looked up and asked, "Weren't you supposed to acting as a mediator between that new planet that rejected Federation membership and the Federation?"

Cliff shrugged. "Maria told me to take a break. She said that she would handle it." He then chuckled, "I think it was getting on her nerves about how I'm always sending you home alone instead of going myself."

Mirage laughed a light laugh, covering her mouth slightly with her hand. She then merely smiled as she leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes. "It wasn't your fault. There was just too much to do and you wanted to take the burden off of your subordinates." She then opened her eyes and without looking over added, "Looks like Maria's pulling the same thing on you."

He shrugged, noticing now that the ship seemed to have come to a stop and that people were beginning to rise from their seats. "Normally I would've refused, but she's been getting better lately on the political side of things. She's ready to handle those nitwits from the Federation government now."

Mirage slowly rose from her seat before stretching her arms out above her head. The action caused her leather flight jacket to rise slightly before she lowered her arms. "I don't suppose that you think that Fayt is the cause of that?" She asked with a playful smile on her face.

Cliff merely laughed at the understatement as he rose to his feet. Cliff hadn't known about what happened to Maria after she left Quark. She had said that she wanted to try living a normal life. However, the sight of her disheveled self when she met him and Mirage at the spaceport was something that really unnerved Cliff. He didn't see her at first as the young woman who had been the leader of Quark, the same young woman who had faced down the creator of the universe known as the 'Eternal Sphere.'

No, he saw the same frightened little girl that he saw many years ago, upon pulling her out of her escape pod.

Afterwards Maria shut herself off from displaying any sort of negative emotions, just like when had been Quark's leader. Cliff and Mirage both had been worried about her but Maria would falsely assure them that she was fine and that they were reading too deep into things. Fayt had shared their concerns but never said anything. When Cliff asked him about it once, Fayt merely shrugged. "If something is wrong, she'll tell us about it when she's ready."

Eventually Cliff resigned as leader of Quark again to hand it over to Maria. She took it without hesitation and Quark once again had Maria Traydor at the helm. Cliff had been removed from the Captain of the Diplo, something he was completely fine with. Although the large ship was comfortable, and held more people, he felt far more at home with his own smaller ship, the Eagle. He had offered Fayt the chance to be his co-pilot, but the young man merely chuckled, remarking "I don't think I'm capable of keeping you in line Cliff. Better take someone like Mirage or Lancar. At least they can keep you on track. We wouldn't want you to take too many hunches."

Cliff merely smiled when he thought of the two blue haired young adults. A few months back Cliff had left on an investigation of a space anomaly with Lancar. When he had left, Maria was still being untruthful to herself. It was easy to see, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. However, when he returned he was shocked to see Maria apparently coming out of that shell. And he somehow knew that Fayt had played a role in it somehow. _She probably needed someone like him in her life. Someone who can keep her stable..._

Snapping back to the present, Cliff merely snickered before answering Mirage's question. "You think with the way those two have been going on for the past couple of months that he already has the ring picked out."

Mirage couldn't help but laugh at that as the two exited the shuttle craft.

-

Cliff merely stared up at the building and couldn't help but let a low whistle out. "You know, I surprised the old coot still has the place in such good condition."

Mirage merely rolled her eyes before smacking him on the back of the head as she walked past him. "I would prefer it if you didn't refer to my father as an old coot." Cliff merely rubbed the back of his head as he followed her into her family's dojo. Cliff noticed that there was still quite a few students of the old man's martial arts. There were rows of students practicing the two different forms that Mirage's family was known for, running through all sorts of drills that Cliff remembered with displeasure. _More than I thought would be here. That's not surprising though. He is famous for producing several prodigies of the martial arts. Including Mirage and myself._

Cliff found himself suddenly staring at a young Klausian who had stepped in his path. Cliff merely squinted as he tried to recognize the young man but failed. "I never thought you would show yourself again in this place." The young man remarked as if displeased.

Cliff finally realized who the person was. "Gee and here I thought that you missed me Lucian." Cliff said a mocking tone of voice as he glared back. The two male Klassians both stared each other down, neither wanting to back down from the challenge before Mirage's voice broke through.

"Stop that you two. Lucian, Cliff is here to visit father. You two can beat the hell out of each other later."

Lucian merely scoffed under his breath before walking away from the pair of blond haired Klassians. Cliff merely shrugged before walking up to Mirage. "Seems that I'm still not liked here."

Mirage only said, "Well, you were the one chosen to succeed the school and you turned your back on it." Though such a claim would sound as if Cliff had done something wrong, the way Mirage's tone of voice changed meant that she knew that it hadn't been that simple and accepted it. Cliff at that moment found himself oddly thankful for her understanding. She then smiled and gestured towards the back door of the dojo. "Father must be upstairs, come on."

-

Cliff couldn't help but stare in shock as Mirage approached her old man. Cliff's memories of this man were of a man who was built like a tank. The man used to run insanely long distances every morning before working on physical conditioning. All of these used to happen before the students even arrived in the late morning to continue their training under his tutelage.

The elder man sitting in a cross-legged position on a rather large throw pillow was something that broke Cliff's composure as he slowly walked forward. Cliff merely looked at the old man's arms, noticing that they seemed bony and thin and could help but shiver slightly. _No one is immune to aging, not even this monster._ Although Cliff thought of Mirage's father as a monster, it was not in the way most would use the term. If anything, if you substituted the word 'pinnacle' for it instead, then you would get Cliff's meaning.

Mirage went down to her knees to hug her father. "Hi dad. It's been a while." She said with a smile as she drew back from him.

The old man merely smiled back as well. "You look more like your mother every time I see you." He remarked with a loud chuckle. Cliff once again flinched at the man's laugh. _Damn, even his laugh seems old._ It was apparently at this moment that the old man noticed Cliff standing at the edge of the room.

The old man's happy expression slowly changed into a regretful one. "Ah, Cliff. It's been what, ten years?"

Cliff walked forward until he was in front of his old master. "Fifteen, you old coot." He said with humor in his voice. He was rewarded for his remark with a slap on the back of the head by Mirage, reminding him of his manners.

The old man merely laughed at the exchange. "Its good to see you two are still so lively." He then looked back to Cliff. "How have you been kid?" He said with a hint of humor in his voice.

Cliff merely shrugged. "Can't complain. The organization is doing well in the hands of its new leader once again. It's given me some spare time, but even then its not all that much."

The old man nodded in understanding. "Yes, Mirage spoke of how much work you had to do. Do investigations really take that much of your time?"

Cliff winced internally, but didn't show anything at that comment. "Far more than I'd like. It gets boring drifting through the void all the time, looking for space debris." Cliff felt slightly uneasy with the little white lie. Mirage had once assured Cliff that her father knew nothing of Quark itself, nor that it had been founded by Cliff. As far as her father knew, he and Mirage were Federation explorers that investigated cases of vanished starships.

The old man nodded before turning to his daughter again. "Mirage dear, could you please make me some tea?"

She nodded as she rose to her feet. "Of course dad." She turned to Cliff and asked, "Do you want anything Cliff?"

Cliff merely shrugged. "Tea's fine I suppose." He said as he sat down across from Mirage's father.

Mirage raised an eyebrow, "You? Tea?" Asking with a hint of humor in her voice as if she couldn't picture Cliff drinking a cup of tea.

Cliff merely crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "I'll have you know that I enjoy tea as much as the next person." Mirage only laughed once before leaving the room, and the two men alone.

There was a few moments of silence before Cliff's master spoke. "So you still can't let go of your resentment?" He asked in a sad voice.

Cliff only looked at the man in confusion as he uncrossed his arms and leaned back on them. "What?"

"So how is Quark doing?" The old man asked, not looking Cliff in the eye.

Cliff blinked once before closing his eyes. "So, you knew?" He asked in resignation.

The old man merely sighed and shook his head. "You didn't really think that I wouldn't find out would you? More people talk to me than Mirage you realize."

Cliff sighed and opened his eyes. "How long have you been playing along?"

"Several years my boy. You still can't get over his death can you?"

Cliff seethed at that response but didn't let it into his voice. "Quark has nothing to do with Xanther's murder." He spat out the word murder in that sentence, as if trying to emphasize something.

Xanther was Mirage's brother. He died before Cliff had formed the anti-Federation group Quark. Like Mirage and Cliff, he was a student under Mirage's father in their study of the family's martial art. Cliff felt than Xanther was like a brother to him, despite that Cliff was not a real member of their family. There was nothing that Cliff wouldn't do for Xanther. They grew up ever since Cliff ran from home and was discovered breaking into the dojo to steal some food one night.

Cliff tried to fight his way out but with two quick moves from Xanther, Cliff was done for the count. It was only through the good will of the old man that Cliff wasn't turned over to the police. Instead the man took in the boy, training him much like he had trained his own children. Cliff took the teachings well, if not exceptionally well. He had a rebellious nature, but not enough that the old man couldn't handle.

It was during this time that Cliff met Mirage and Xanther. He quickly became friends with the son of the family, laughing and goofing around like they were siblings. His friendship with Mirage had started off to a more rocky start, after he had tried a few... inappropriate actions with her. She spent a good deal of time punishing him after such instances.

Eventually the Klaus system was approached by the Federation with it's offer of membership. The system leaders refused the offer, remarking about how they desired no part of what the Federation officials were offering. Still, the Federation insisted, leading to a long period of talks between the leaders of the Klaus system. Many people were upset by what looked like the Klaus government caving in to the Federation demands. There were a number of organized protest outside the Federation embassies as these talks continued.

Xanther was one of the people who went to these protests often. He often tried to get his sister and Cliff to go with him to show support for the Klaus government but neither really showed any interest at that point. It wasn't unexpected, after all they were far too young to understand politics at all. Both merely remained at the dojo doing... whatever it was that they did when Xanther wasn't around.

It turns out that their refusal to go to the rally that day saved their lives. During the protest, someone had thrown a smoke bomb over the gates to the embassy. It caused quite a panic within the boundaries of the embassy, some of the representatives even thinking it was a terrorist attack of some sort.

The guards however didn't try to sort it out. They merely took the safeties of their rifles off and opened fire into the crowd.

Xanther's unexpected death was a momentous blow to the pseudo-family that Cliff had grown up with. It was the single most important event that instilled the hatred of the Federation into him. Ironically, it was due to this event that the Klaus system finally threw the Federation proposal away, even threatening war if they did not leave their territory immediately. It was something that Xanther would've liked, but Cliff didn't care anymore. Xanther wasn't around to enjoy his victory.

Oddly enough, this event marked the beginning of a deterioration between Cliff and the master of the school. Cliff became far more rebellious, more violent and overall more uncontrolled. The split between Cliff and the pseudo-father that raised him began during that time period, and accumulated to the point several years later when Cliff refused to take control of the dojo.

Strangely enough however, this event drew Mirage and Cliff closer than before. Cliff often supposed it was due to similar pain, but that didn't really make any sense. Cliff didn't think about it too much, and spent much time trying to make his new 'sister' happy as much as he could. He hid most of his own pain from her in order to be strong for her, something that although she never told him so, she was grateful for.

Cliff looked back to Mirage's father as he left memory lane behind him. "I formed Quark for my own reasons. Xanther may have played a part in that, but I didn't form it for him." Cliff said bluntly.

The old man merely regarded Cliff with what seemed like a mixture of understanding and pity. "I see. Then you are doing well?" He asked.

Cliff sighed. "Well, things could be better. I mean I'm still getting swamped with fan-mail and dinner invitations from people for 'saving the universe...'" When Cliff looked up to see the man's shocked look, he raised an eyebrow. "You knew I started Quark but you didn't know about that?"

The old man shook his head. "No one mentioned it to me." He then paused for a moment before bursting out in laughter. "That sounds like quite a tale too! You should tell me about it sometime."

Cliff merely shook his head. "Sorry old-timer. You can hear it from someone else. Its too... nah, just forget it." He then leaned forward a bit and asked, "So how's the school doing?"

The old man sighed. "The teachings are still being passed down. It's something that I am grateful for, but eventually I'll need to choose someone to succeed the school. Mirage has already agreed for her style, so now it's only a matter of finding one for the second style." The style of martial arts that Mirage's family taught was two-sided. Both forms had the same basics, but the form that Cliff followed relied more on brute strength and power than Mirage's, which relied more heavily on quick reactions and speed, as well as flexibility. Together the two forms created the Koas style of martial arts.

The customs of the past were that the teachings would always be passed down to son and daughter. When the time came for the current master to pass on, his or her heir would succeed the master and become the new master. This was how it had happened for the past one hundred years of the style.

Customs took a hard hit when Xanther died. Mirage's father was far too old to have another son, and his wife had passed on after Mirage's birth. It wasn't until a few years later when the idea to let Cliff take over came to him.

Cliff at this point had become rather violent and uncontrolled when out of the dojo. He got into fights consistently in the back alley's of the nearest city. He was actually arrested three times, but there was never enough evidence for any convictions. He thought his idea would serve two purposes: one would be to pass on the teachings of his style, the other would be to give something to Cliff and hopefully calm down his rowdy pupil. When Cliff heard the idea though, he bluntly refused.

Cliff sighed as he continued to drift down memory lane. He said idly, "Mirage is a good instructor. Maria has become quite a good fighter due to her teachings."

"You would be a good one as well Cliff." The old man said with a hint of amusement. "Perhaps its time that you stop running away from this?"

Cliff merely scratched the back of his head in a type of embarrassment. "Come on old man, you know I'm not fit to teach anyone. Besides, if word gets out that the current master is the same as the man who founded Quark, your school would lose it students overnight." He sighed once again, "Even in the Klaus system, we're not all that popular."

It was at this point that Mirage came back carrying a tray with some cups and a tea kettle. Cliff allowed himself to drift into the background as Mirage and her father spoke about many different issues. He couldn't help but smile as he watched the two, allowing a single thought to pass through his mind. _Xanther would be happy to see them like this._

Cliff found himself feeling like a third wheel on a bicycle as he watched them. He almost frowned at the feeling. _Since when did I feel like I didn't belong here. These people are like my family, as close to one I'll ever have I suppose._ He mused to himself as he continued to stare at the scene. Finally he felt like he had to do something, something he had not done for a long time. He excused himself from the room, giving the reason that he had to do something, closing the door behind him.

Mirage frowned at her friend's manners. "It couldn't hurt him to stick around could it? You two haven't seen each other for so long."

The old man said nothing at first, merely reflecting on the look he had seen on his pupil's face as Cliff walked out. He then said calmly, "He has some issues to work out on his own my dear." He then grinned and asked his daughter, "So tell me this tale about saving the universe..." He chuckled at her shocked expression in response.

-

Cliff tightened the jacket he was wearing as he stood silently in the Klaus winter air. He wore an expression of deep thought as he stared down in front of him. He closed his eyes and said quietly, "It's been a while, you two."

Before Cliff lay two gravestones, elaborately carved to look like a pair of crosses. Written on the tombstones were the names Jacob Fittir and Lucinda Fittir. Cliff open his eyes and allowed himself a small smile. _I haven't been here since before I ran away from that foster home._ "I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm doing fine. Sorry I couldn't take over the family business like you intended, but I'm sure you guys knew that already." Cliff closed his eyes again as he searched for the words he wanted but came up with nothing. _I never did have a way with words._ So, within nothing to say to his parents, he remained standing there for a long time in silence as the snow began to fall.

Eventually Cliff felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned his head around and blinked in shock. Standing behind him with a bouquet of flowers in her hand stood Mirage. She merely gave him a small smile before stepping up next to him. Cliff turned his eyes back to the two gravestones and watched in silence as Mirage placed the bouquet down between the two gravestones. Cliff was shocked as she rose and stood next to him, looking towards the two gravestones. Finally, he said "Thank you." in a soft but overall shocked voice. She merely shook her head, as if it was nothing. "How did you know where to find me?"

Mirage shrugged. "I can only think of a few places you would go besides the dojo. Besides, whoever said I was looking for you?" She said with a small grin. She then turned back to the two graves and said, "I used to come here once a month and pray for your parents."

Cliff lowered his head, "So you knew?"

Mirage nodded. "Well, it's not everyday that a runaway breaks into your home and causes a ruckus. When you told us you ran away from home, my father looked into it and discovered that your parents were dead."

Cliff scratched his head and said, "It was still a hard thing for me to deal with back then." He then sighed and kneeled down and made a quick sign of the cross. "See you later pops, mom." He then stood and turned and began walking away. Mirage likewise crossed herself before following after him.

It wasn't long before Cliff found himself standing before a familiar grave. One he had not stood in front of since he had formed Quark. "Xanther..." Cliff said to himself as he watched Mirage kneel down and offer a prayer. Cliff couldn't say anything more than that, his thoughts far too tumultuous to form into words. So once again he remained silent, lost for words.

Mirage finally stood back up and let out a sad smile. "It's been a long time since we both came here." She said sadly.

Cliff scratched his head and said, "Yeah. I think the last time I came here was before we both left to form Quark."

She nodded in understanding. "I try to visit him whenever I come home, but still it seems like its been ages."

Cliff only nodded in understanding as he closed his eyes. "I sometimes..." Cliff began but stopped himself.

Mirage looked at Cliff as if confused. "Cliff?"

Cliff sighed as he continued, "I sometimes wonder if he'd be proud of me..." Mirage only nodded in understanding. Cliff had always looked up to her brother, and she knew that if her brother could tell them so, he would tell them that he was proud of both of them.

"Cliff, you know he would be." Mirage said at first before pausing. She then turned and said, "We both know that you didn't form Quark in his memory, but what we have done as Quark in the past is something that he would be proud of. If he was standing before us today, he would be smiling Cliff."

Cliff merely smiled in response and couldn't help but opened his eyes. "Thanks Mirage." He then shoot a final smile to the grave, thought _I'll see you in the next life ol' buddy,_ before saying, "Come on, let's go." Mirage merely followed after him with a smile.

-

Cliff stood in front of the old dojo and watched with a small smile as Mirage hugged her father goodbye. "I'll come back soon to visit." She said as she slowly let go of her father.

Her father merely nodded in understanding with a smile. He looked to Cliff and said, "Take care of yourself young man."

Cliff merely chuckled, "Don't let yourself worry about this lean-mean fighting machine you old coot."

The old man chuckled as Mirage's eyebrow twitched before his voice lost its mirth and asked, "Is you answer still the same?" He was obviously referring to the prospect of taking over the dojo.

Cliff closed his eyes for a few moments before opening his eyes. "I'll think about it old man."

Mirage and her father both blinked at his response, both expecting him to refuse again. "What?"

Cliff merely shrugged and said with a hint of amusement, "I'll let you know the next time I visit." He then turned around and began walking away. "Come on Mirage, let's head back before those two love-birds back on the Diplo decide to tie the knot."

Mirage only laughed as she ran after him, leaving her father with a small but amused smile. He then frowned as he realized that knowing Cliff, he wouldn't be back again for another ten years or so.

-

Mirage sighed as she packed her bags back into the overhead compartment before sitting back down next to Cliff on the shuttle craft. Finally she asked, "Do you really plan on doing it?"

Cliff shrugged. "I don't know, but something tells me that this isn't something I can run away from. Besides, if anything, I'll do it for Xanther. It's what he would've wanted." Mirage nodded in understand as Cliff felt his communicator go off. He brought it from his pocket and read the text that was displayed on its screen. He blinked a few times before saying with a laugh, "Well I'll be damned."

Mirage raised an eyebrow before asking. "What is it?"

Cliff merely laughed as he handed the device to her. "Looks like another one of my hunches paid off." Mirage raised and an eyebrow and read the message. She couldn't help but smile as the screen read:

_Come back to the Diplo. Looks like the Captain is going to be Maria Leingod soon._

_-Marietta _

Mirage only laughed as she handed it back to Cliff. "Well, looks like things are going to get busy once again."

Cliff nodded in agreement. "At least its something to be happy for us, unlike being dragged into a war against a god."

Mirage hit him on the back of the head. "Oh hush you." She said with a laugh.

-Fin


End file.
